Thursday, July 02, 2015

Oases of Holiness

Throughout the long golus, our people have had
homes in many countries. Regardless of the backdrop and climate, we’ve always
stood out. Our nation has always been marked by tznius and purity,
testimony to the fact that the Creator whose name is interwoven with our own is
“sonei zima,” loathing of immorality.

In this week’s parsha, we are confronted with a
daunting challenge to the standards we always maintained. After seeing his
efforts at cursing the Bnei Yisroel stymied, Bilam developed a plan to
entice them. “Vayachel ha’am liznos” (Bamidbar 25:1). Rashi
quotes the Gemara (Sanhedrin 106) which delineates his scheme.

Our nation had previously been confronted with depravity
and spiritual contamination. However, this was the first time that we faced a
strategy specifically designed to change the moral climate and pull us into
sin. It worked.

Bilam was crafty, cunning and successful. And he has
progeny following his ways. His diabolical ruse has endured, inspiring various
other organized crusades of debauchery throughout the years.

We don’t have to look past the news headlines to findexamples of what thorough and clever
campaigning can achieve.

In the United States, the president’s signature
legislation, written with great craftiness, specifies that only those states
that set up health exchanges would receive the subsidies that are a cornerstone
of the savings promised under Obamacare. It is clear and obvious that Congress
set it up this way so that governors would be forced to establish the exchanges
or risk losing millions of dollars for their citizens. This was repeatedly
confirmed publically by Jonathan Gruber, the primary architect of the law.

The chief justice said that if that were the case, the
entire program would be in chaos, because you can’t have some people getting
subsidies and some not. So he ignored the intent of Congress, and the wording
of the law, and he saved the sloppily written and conceived Obamacare law from
itself.

And just like that, victory was declared. The Left won,
again demonstrating an uncanny knack for pulling victories out of a hat and
moving society over to their point of view. The same chief justice who
previously ruled that a penalty isn’t a penalty, because if it would be a
penalty it can’t be imposed, and Obamacare would not be able to be foisted on
the people if they aren’t penalized for not buying in to it. Thus he found that
the penalty is really a tax, which the commerce clause permits.

Despite everything stacked against them, the Left manages
to outsmart and outfox their opposition. Just look at the societal changes they
have brought about in this country over the past decade. They have effectively
broadened the classification of the rights inherent in what used to be a sacred
union. They redefined marriage from the way it has been understood and
practiced since the beginning of time. They have also foisted upon an unwilling
majority entitlements and differing social norms, amending America’s
relationship with historical allies and weakening the country’s courage and
confidence to lead on the world stage. They marginalize all opponents, paint them
as radicals, and then move the goal posts once again as they set up to battle
for the next cause on their agenda.

Just two weeks ago, the confederate flag was flying
proudly - as it has been since the Civil War - across the southern part of this
country. A white lunatic went on a rampage in a black church and, within a
matter of days, the flag was blamed for the crime and all across the south
people began pulling it down. Though nothing about the flag had changed, the
die was cast and the plan was put in motion. The media did their job and
politicians of all stripes responded, running to microphones to declare that
the flag had fluttered for the last time. Stores pulled anything with a
confederate symbol from their shelves. Manufacturers stopped their productions
mid-run. And before anyone realized what was happening, the flag was gone and
the liberals had won yet another round. This column is not about defending that
flag, but it is no more offensive today that it was yesterday, when Democrats,
including the Clintons, supported it. What changed was that it became a target
of the Left. When that happened, everyone climbed on board and it was gone.

Things reached a head last Friday, a day referred to by Kadmonim
as ominous (Magein Avrohom, Orach Chaim 580). Many people have the minhag
of fasting on this day, Erev Shabbos of the week when we read Zos
Chukas HaTorah, which the Targum Onkoles interprets as Dah
Gezeira D’Oraysa. It’s a day when twenty-five wagonloads of Gemaros
were burnt in France and it’s a day when the modest values of our holy Torah
were burnt by the United States Supreme Court.

The men and women of the highest court in the US forced a
way of life upon citizens who have voted against it, reminding us, once again,
that traditional values and religion in general are under attack. Words, laws
and precedents no longer have meaning. Things taken for granted for millennia
are shoved away by powerful groups and interests. People depended upon to
maintain justice and equilibrium are shown to be tools of the progressive
agenda. There is no place for refuge, no escape from the cultural changes that
are overtaking this country and the world.

The kochos of tumah are on the ascent. In
order to fight back, we must increase kedushah in the world. We must invest
more into proper chinuch and we must be intelligent about it. We will
not be able to shield ourselves and our world from it, by simply closing our
eyes to what is taking place. Ignoring the revolutionary changes that are
taking place around us is wrong. Thinking that by blocking ourselves from the
impact of new realities mean they will not affect us isa grave mistake.

We are seriously impacted by what takes place around us.
The increase of tumah affects the air we breathe and the underpinnings
of the country in which we live in many spiritual ways, and it also trickles
down to us in our cloistered world. We are not immune to anything, unless we
immunize ourselves.

Hundreds of years ago, theKotzker Rebbe closeted
himself in his room. He famously commented to a chossid who opened the
window to the room, “Der velt shtinked. Farmach dem fenster. Close the
window and don’t allow the stench of the world into this room.”

How can we effectively close the windows to our homes,
rooms and offices?

How are we to respond?

Before the 1992 presidential election that pitted Governor
Bill Clinton against incumbent George Bush, a talmid went to visit Rav
Shimon Schwab zt”l. The mainstream Orthodox position seemed to be to
support the Democrat, since the Bush administration was seen as particularly
harsh to Israel. Rav Schwab felt otherwise and he explained his thinking to his
visitor.

“What will be with Eretz Yisroelis Hashem’sbusiness.
The posuk says, ‘Lev melochim vesorim beyad Hashem. He guides and
directs leaders the way He sees fit. We are mandated to be a mamleches
kohanim vegoy kadosh, to bring about and spread holiness in the world.”

Rav Schwab added, “I believe that a Yid has to vote
for the candidate who will keep the atmosphere as refined as possible.”

We, charged with ensuring that the moral climate remain
clean and holy, have our work cut out for us.

The Rambam at the end of Hilchos Me’ilah (perek
7) tells us how to respond: “How much did Dovid Hamelech suffer from the
scoffers and heretics who would challenge him regarding the meaning and purpose
of the chukim? And the more they antagonized him...the more he would increase
his devotion to the Torah.”

Like Dovid Hamelech in his time, we are constantly being
attacked. Secular permissiveness is licking at our shores, as we are mocked by
those who insist on appending the appellation “Orthodox” to their name. They
vilify many of our traditions and teachings, move the bar on many topics and
customs, and act contrary to halachah, yet continue to make inroads, taking
over shuls and schools across the country and being welcomed into an
increasing number of Orthodox botei knesses.

Nobody wants to be perceived as negative, old-fashioned or
anti-progress, so what started out as something far-out has become increasingly
accepted and mainstream right under our noses. Once it’s in vogue, it’s harder
to resist. Weak leaders capitulate to the demands of congregants and
organization members. More shuls and Orthodox people fall under their
spell.

As we see in our personal lives, most people are fickle.
They don’t have the stamina to fight for the truth, stand up to bullies, or
defend their beliefs. Most allow their innate desire to be loved to dictate
their conduct. Similar to the chief justice, who ruled with an eye on the editorial
pages of the New York Times and the Washington Post, people act
in the manner they consider most prudent, neither making waves nor fighting
them.

With this latest Supreme Court ruling, it will become
easier for those with contempt for our values to marginalize us and label us as
racist, bigoted, and irrational extremists if we do not respond cleverly and
act responsibly.

Strong leadership, strong principles, courage and
conviction are the only answers in times like these, as redefinitions will be
taking place, affecting religious freedom and things we have become accustomed
to taking for granted.

We can succeed.

People used to view the US Supreme Court as the fount of
justice. If ever a jurisdiction, or court, or prosecutor, or politician were out
of control, they felt that there was a group of people to whom they could turn
for final redress. There was a place that cared about the truth, the law, and
what was right. Well, those thoughts have now been dashed with a trio of
rulings that left many scratching their heads, others in mourning, and leftists
and liberals dancing in the streets.

Our grandparents persevered when liberties were limited.
The nisayon at the present time is to persevere when the liberties are -
if we may say so - too great. The storm that threatens us is no less
intimidating than those that our forefathers faced in the ghettos and pogroms,
though today’s flood may be less physically painful. Against all odds they won,
and so can we.

Simply closing our eyes to what is taking place isn’t
enough to shield ourselves and our world from it. Ignoring the revolutionary
changes taking place around us and reasoning that this way they will not affect
us is a mistake.

We can and should invest more in proper chinuch,
using intelligence and proper planning to achieve and accomplish. Our rallying
cry must be the words of the Rambam, who says, “Kamah hayah DovidHamelech mitzta’er,”Dovid Hamelech persevered by attaching
himself to Torah and growing more elevated and exalted. The Rambam
closes by quoting the posuk in Tehillim (119:69) which states, “Toflu
alay sheker zeidim, ani bechol lev etzor pikudecha.” The more falsehood he
was attacked with, the deeper Dovid Hamelech connected himself to the Torah.
The more we cleave to Torah, the stronger we are.

Shlomo Hamelech writes in Mishlei, “Bechol eis yihyu
begodecha levanim,” we must always endeavor to keep ourselves clean. Should
we find a spot, we must immediately cleanse it before it sets in. In times such
as these, we should Scotchguard ourselves against stains through the study of
Torah and mussar and seforim which lead to increased kedusha
and tahara, emunah and bitachon.

In this week’s parsha, we read how the Midyanite
king feared the ascent of the Bnei Yisroel and sought out the services
of the spiritual leader of the gentile nations to curse the Jews before they
would swallow him. Bilam attempted to fulfill the king’s wishes, especially
after he was plied with fame and fortune in return for his work. Things didn’t
go as planned and Bilam ended up blessing the Jews.

The brachos, placed in his mouth by Hashem, bear
eternal messages. “Mah tovu ohalecha Yaakov,” he proclaimed. The greatness,
beauty, nobility and modesty of the Jewish home are hallmarks that have defined
Torah Jews throughout the millennia. “Hein am levodod yishkon.” No
matter what was going on around us, irrespective of the outside cultures, we
always attempted to maintain our homes as oases of holiness.

Bilam was characterized by his “ayin ra’ah,” his
bad eye, haughty manner and conceited demeanor, while we are defined as talmidim
of Avrohom, possessing an “ayin tovah,” a good eye and humility. We are
defined by our unfailing love for each other, which leads to kindness, concern,
caring and a humble existence, as we walk in the shadow of Hashem, come what
may.

When Bilam saw that he wasn’t able to curse the blessed,
beloved nation, he led them to temptation and caused them to fall prey to
immorality. He perceived that the way to cause their extermination was by
lowering them to the levels of the decadent people who surrounded them. As long
as they maintained their kedushah and taharah, they would not
fall and could not be defeated.

The posuk states, “Kedoshim tihiyu ki kadosh ani”
(Vayikra 19:2), which the Ramban explains to mean that if we are
holy, we can remain connected to Hashem.

All through the ages, there have been attempts to tempt us
to veer from the path of eternal truth. As long as we remained loyal to the
Torah’s teachings and morals, we were successful in remaining untouched. When
we succumbed to the enticements and left the path of Torah, the nations
attacked us and drew blood.

We are entering a period in which we will be pressured to
get with the program and accept where society has led the surrounding culture.
We will be painted as an old-fashioned, bigoted, spiteful, hateful, phobic
tribe. It will require spiritual, mental and intellectual strength to withstand
the onslaught.

On a visit to Bnei Brak, Rav Yitzchok Hutner zt”l
walked down the central street, Rechov Chazon Ish. From every window, it
seemed, came forth the sound of children learning Torah. Every second
building was a kollel. The city is dominated by massive, world-famous
yeshivos. Many Chassidic centers have established themselves there
as well.

Rav Hutner paused and reflected. “The Gemara says,
‘Kol halomeid Torah beseiser, if one learns Torah in seclusion, machrizin
alav begolui, it eventually becomes announced in public.’ Before there were
all these mosdos, the Chazon Ish sat in seclusion, in a humble
room, and poured his lifeblood into Torah. Now, the city of Bnei Brak and all
the Torah in it is the public announcementof his toil.”

Every individual can create kedushah and chase away
tumah. Although we do not have the abilities of the Chazon Ish,
by maximizing our dedication to Torah in our hearts and homes, we create
buffers from tumah and increase goodness and holiness in the world. Bit by
bit, ehrliche Yid by ehrliche Yid,we bring light into
places of darkness, until the entire world becomes aflame with kedushah
and taharah, on physical and spiritual levels, seen and unseen,
perceived and hidden.

We can do it. We have to do it. We must use the gifts of
the am chochom venavon and the heritage of ohalim tovim and middos
tovos transmitted to us since our founding. Hashem doesn’t give us trials
we cannot overcome. With Torah wisdom, accompanied by strength, humility and ayin
tovah, we will be zocheh to continue our growth besiyata diShmaya.